REPORT 



ON THE RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY 



TRAVERSED BY THE 



Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio Rjiilroad, 



AND THE 



Paris, Georgetown and Frankfort Railroad, 



IN THE STATES OF VIRGINIA AND KENTUCIfit 



BY N. S. SHALE R, S. D. 



^ 



> » ^ « < 



CAMBRIDGE, Mass. : 

W. H. Wheeler, Printer, 15 & 17 Brighton St. 

i88i. 



4 



'\ 



.F 451 
.S53 
Copy 1 



REPORT 



ON THE RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY 



TU.WKKSEl) UV Till-: 



Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio Railroad, 



ANn Till-: 



Paris, Georoetown and Frankfort Railroad, 



In the States of Virginia and Kentucky. 



v*» 



Br X. S. SHALE R. S. D. 



CAMBRIDGE, Mass.: 

AV. H. Wheeler, Printer, 15 I's: 17 Brighton St. 
iSSr. 



REPORT. 



A map of the existing railways in the United States 
exhibits a singular want of these roads in the central 
portion of tlie Alleghany Mountain Chain. A section com- 
posed of parts of Virginia, Western ^^irginia, Kentucky and 
Tennessee, about as large as the state of Pennsylvania, is 
not traversed by a single railway. It might be supposed from 
this absence of modern ways that this region was either a 
desert or that its surface was so rugged that a road could not 
be made through it without Aery great expense. In fact this 
region is the most fertile and salubrious portion of the Appa- 
lachian Mountain system; it abounds in mineral resources and 
its surface offers less serious obstacles to the passage of rail- 
ways than any other part of that great mountain system. 

The fact that this great region, full of natural resources, has 
remained essentially undeveloped is due to the peculiar effects 
of slaverv. Althousfh of fertile soil and abounding in mineral 
wealth, it was not fitted for large plantations or tillage by slave 
labor; it therefore, as far as occupied at all, fell to the lot of the 
poorei and less enterprising small farmers of the South. In 
the old days of the south the onh' resources that could be 
made of use was those of the soil, and even those were limited 
to those soils that would produce the few plantation products. 
The great amounts of coal, iron, salt, timber, etc., that abound 
in this district were without interest in that stage of its history. 
After the war came a period of political uncertainty that de- 
terred capitalists from venturing into this field. Before the pro- 
cess of readjustment of relations was complete the country fell 
into the monetary crisis of 1873 which still further delayed tlie 
commercial re-absorption of the South into the Uninn. "Witliin 



4 Liuid Rcsonrccs oj'f/ic Virginia, Kentucky & Ohio, 

a year or two this process has been lairl}- begun and the busi- 
ness men of the country are now beginning to discover the 
economic resources of a region much richer than any that 
has yet been fairly opened to the activities of our race. It is 
not too much to say that the development of this region is not 
only necessary to the industries of the South but equally essen- 
tial to those of the wliole countr\-. 

I shall now proceed to consider in some detail the economic 
res(jurces of the part of this district which it is proposed to 
render accessible. I shall t.ike lirst the climate, next the 
topography, the forests and soils, then the mineral resources in 
the order (jf their present commercial \'alue. 

The greater part of this continent is characterized by extreme 
climates, the variation in temperature between midwinter and 
midsummer are so excessive that the climate of one part of the 
\ear or the other puts a limit on all acti\"ities. In the extreme 
southern states the summers are so warm as to discourage work, 
and in the northern states the winter limits all but well housed 
labor. The only section of the country east of the Pacific coast 
that has a fairly equable climate, one that is to no extent a 
iiindrance to anv acti\ities, is found in the highlands of the 
Appalachian system between the Potomac and northern Geor- 
gia. All the parts of that region that lie more than one 
thousand feet above the sea have a remarkably wholesome 
and labor litting climate. In tlie heated season the nights are 
cool and in tlie winter the height of the sun, and generally 
clear sky that gives its rays access to the earth, mitigate the 
cold. The rainfall is large, it will average near fifty inches 
for this area, more than twice the average of the Mississippi val- 
ley, so that droughts are rare and never of destructive severity. 
This region is remarkable for the longevity of its people; good 
\ital statistics are wanting, but if we mav judge from the sur- 
prising number or very old people in this district the death rate 
is remarkably low. The most destructive disease of tlie north- 
ern states, consumption, is less common here than in any other 
part of the countrx- except the extreme southern states. There 



and Pan's, Georgetown & Frankfort Railroads. 5 

is an entire absence of malarial fevers in all this section, despite 
its southern position; the height above the sea, and free drain- 
age prevents the development of such poisons. In all this area 
there is not a square mile of swamp land. These conditions 
exclude the most objectionable hygenic elements of our 
American climates. 



TOPOGRAPHY, SOIL, ETC. 

The general character of this surface is that of a table land 
on which stand numerous mountain ridges of no great eleva- 
tion. Only in the region of the black and smokN- mountains of 
North Carolina do these reliefs attain the height of over five 
thousand feet above the sea= These mountain reliefs are of 
two classes. In the Blue Ridge and its southern continuation 
in the Black and Smoky mountains we have massive sierra- 
like crusts of varied and picturesque forms. West of this 
belt of ancient mountains, in the Alleghanies, the ridges are of 
a simpler type of form and of smaller size. These lesser 
folds are not very continuous nor do they occup}' as large a 
part of the face of the country as the hills of Pennsylvania. 
The result is that this part of the Alleghanies is much more 
readily passable by railw^ay than the section to the northward. 
Of the section comprised within this elevated area not more 
than one-third is really mountainous, the remainder is a plateau 
in which the streams have cut deep valle^■s. 

Nearly the whole of the area approachable by this system of 
railwa3S is covered b}^ fertile soil, unlike the mountains of the 
northern Alleghanies or even those in Pennsl3'vania, and afford 
few rocky slopes and hardly any land that is not at least tit for 
pasturage. Many of the best farms in South-western Virginia 
lie upon the tops of these hills in places where, in more 
northern regions, the soil would be utterly sterile. The qualitv 
of the soils in this district is extremely ^■ariable, much more 
so than in northern regions, owing to the fact that thev here 
depend upon the constantly varying nature of the rocks be- 



G J^aiid Resources of Ihe Vii-ginia, Kentucky d- Ohio, 

neath tliem. When these soils rest upon a limestone forma- 
tion, as is the case in most of the mountain valleys, it is 
extremeh' fertile, unsurpassed in most respects by any known 
to me in this country. The Powell valley, for instance, is 
perhaps tlie most fertile mountain valley in the whole Appa- 
lachian mountain system. The same praise, in varying degree, 
may be given to the valleys of the Clinch, the Ilolston, the 
New River, and other streams; they seem to me, and I know 
the whole Appalachian district well, to be the most charming 
parts of its beautiful area. The soils formed upon the sand- 
stone which generally compose the ridges of this district are 
much more sandy than the limestone soils, yet they are gen- 
eral Iv verv good forests for tillage. 

These varieties in the nature of the soil bring about a wide 
ditference in the character of their timber, their natural and 
most valuable product. As a whole these forests are admirable 
in the size, variety, and quality of their trees. There is no 
doubt that the great eastern forest of North America, that 
vast wood which originally extended from the St. Lawrence 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to the Mississippi was, 
and despite the great ravages that have been made upon it 
still is, the finest forest outside of tropical limits in the northern 
hemisphere. It is certain that this mountainous table land oi 
the southern Appalachians is the best part of this original 
forest; indeed it is the only part of it that remains in anything 
like its oriirinal inteirritv. The more southern woods still con- 
tain large ' areas of pines, but the last remaining hardwood 
construction timbers of the continent lie within this area. 

It is difficult to convey to the reader who has not personally 
examined tlie conditions of American timber supply, the real 
importance of the forest problem of this countrv. While the 
populous areas of the land were limited to the region of 
heavy forests the process of clearing awav the woods for 
tillage supplied the current demand for timber. At present 
the hard wood timber of the states north of the Potomac and 
tlie Ohio is essentially exhausted and is no longer capable of 



and Parts, Gcoi'gctozvn ct- Frankfort Railroads. 7 

supporting the demand made upon it by the industries of this 
region. Meanwhile the population of this countr}- is accumu- 
lating in the northern region, where the original forests, in 
the scant form in which they existed, were almost destitute 
of construction timbers. It is not too much to say that the 
whole region from the Mississippi to the Pacific ocean is 
without construction timber of any Aalue in the arts. These 
considerations make it clear that this country is certain in the 
future to be at greater disadvantage as regards timber supply 
than the states of Europe. In that continent almost every state 
has some part of its area that is preserved in forests and affords a 
supply of timber. Our western prairie and mountain districts 
will not reproduce its scant forests when they are cut away; 
we will soon have there a population to be numbered by tens 
of millions that must draw such supplies from the southern 
part of the Appalachian forest; I therefore look upon the 
railwa3-s that traverse these extensive woodlands as provided 
with a certain and very important basis for trade in the suppl}' 
of timber to which they give access. 

Each of the proposed branches of this railwav system will 
find its way into fine forest regions abounding in both hard 
and soft woods. The best of these forests will be found in 
two sections. In the region near the head waters of the New 
River there is a noble forest district containing several species 
of pines and the whole range of our ordinary hard wood trees. 
The best and most available supplies of timber will, however, 
be found in the counties in West Virginia and on the line be- 
tween Kentuck}^ and Virginia, where the woods abound in Black 
Walnut, Poplar (^Lii'iodendron tulipifera) , and the various 
species of oaks that have a high commercial value, especially 
the White Oak and the Chestnut Oak, the latter for the supply 
of tan bark that it affords. In the region between these two 
most important forest districts there is an abundance of all our 
common woods, but the most important of these is perhaps the 
yellow pine. 

I believe that the forest lands of this district may be roughlv 
but safely estimated to contain at least 2000 cubic feet of 



8 Land Resources of I he ]'irg-nn(7. Kentucky d: Ohio, 

\alu;ibk' timber to the acre, making no account of the man}' 
sorts of too little value for any export use. This is equal 
to about 16,000 feet, board measure. Along two liundred 
miles of railwa}' there would be at least a million acres of 
forest within five miles of the track. If only a fraction of 
this supply should enter into the carriage account of the road 
it is evident that this resource would be of the utmost value 
to its trade. 

Within trading distance of this system of woods, readily 
accessible to it by small and temporary branches, there is 
an area of at least three million acres of land that is ad- 
mirably fitted for the purpose of forest culture and Avhich 
should always be maintained in this use. When the products 
of these forests are drawn on to supply the needs of the tree- 
less districts of the west they alone will furnish the basis of 
sufficient trade to support these railways. 

Unlike the more northern forests these woods of the southern 
Appalachians renew their trees with great rapidity and without 
change of species. This is well shown by the experience on 
the lands of the small charcoal furnaces in this district, which 
at some points have cut away tlie timber on the same ground 
several times within a half century. These woods always renew 
themselves wnth the same kinds after their successive removals. 
By giving these forests the care that is given to European 
timber lands I believe their timber crop will afford a greater 
annual net proht than can be obtained from any ordinary tillage 
of the sort of land they occupy. These lands can now be ob- 
tained for less prices than the government lands of the far 
west; a domain of a million acres can be had for about a million 
dollars; when properly put in communication with markets 
these lands should have a value of not less than thirty dollars 
per acre and will pay a good annual income on this sum. I 
should, therefore, recommend to you to purchase a large area 
of these lands, and am convinced that by obtaining an average 
of three thousand acres to the mile it will be possible to recoup 
the construction costs of the railway out of the rise in the 
value of the lands alone. 



and Pa?-/s, Georgctozvn & Frankfort Railroads. 9 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

I have already stated that the agrieultural produets of the 
soils in this' district are naturally very varied. As a whole 
this region is very well adapted to the nurture of all our stock 
animals. Its height above the sea, the abundant rainfall, the 
general nature of the soil, all fa\'or the growth of pasture and 
forage grasses. It is a well-known fact that the more southern 
and lower lying regions are generallv unfavorable for the 
growth of cattle, horses and sheep. This upland district is the 
natural region of supply of these animals for the gulf and 
Atlantic border states. Stock cattle and horses as well as 
sheep can be reared more cheaply here than in any other re- 
gion in this country. Winter feeding, which is the great ele- 
ment of cost in the northwest, is not necessary here; the ^vood 
ranges afford browsing all the winter, and the death of stock 
from cold is unknown. The absence of drought is also a 
great advantage to this industrv as to all the other work of 
the farmer. 

The greater part of the soils of this region are well suited 
to grain culture; the wheat soils are limited to the limestone 
districts, but Indian corn, rye, oats, etc., do well over its whole 
area. The natural staple of this district is tobacco, which 
is a \'erv favorable crop for railways inasmuch as it gives a 
larger weight and value for export to the area tilled than almost 
anv other crop. In this section the yield will average about 
half a ton to the acre, having an average \alue of about sixty 
dollars. This crop is delivered in the winter season when 
the other staples have been already moved to market. Its 
large value for its weight and bulk makes it possible to com- 
mand a higher carriage price than for any other crop. The 
area of land in the world that is suited to the production of 
smoking tobacco, of the type that has made the reputation of 
Virginia, is small ; it is practically limited to Virginia, Kentucky, 
and North Carolina. The use of this product seems absolutely 



10 Lund Resources of the Virginia, Kentucky <& Ohio, 

fixed in the habits of man so that it is only a matter of a 
short time when all these tobacco lands will necessarily be 
required. Good tobacco lands will pay a revenue on a price 
of liftv dollars per acre even with the shiftless culture *i^iven to 
them in the south. I estimate that there are at least eight 
hundred thousand acres of such land within the transportation 
limits of vour proposed system of railways, and look to this 
crop as the natural staple of the district }ou propose to develop. 
This district is also singularly well fitted for fruit culture; 
destructiNC spring frosts arc very rare, and all our ordinary fruits 
dourish with the least possible attention. Dried fruit is now 
the principal export for these remote mountain valle}s. I have 
seen cara\ans of bulls harnessed with pack saddles going 
over bridle paths across the hills with the annual shipment of 
dried fruits, gensang, feathers and beeswax, which supply in 
return the cotfee, needles, etc., which the mountaineers re- 
quire. The fact that these remote people need so little to 
maintain a very comfortable life is proof of the varied resources 
of the countr}'. I know no other cotter class in the world 
so well provided with all the necessaries and luxuries of 
life as these folk of the upland Alleghany valle3's, yet all 
they use except a few trifles comes from their own soil. 

MINERAL PRODUCTS. 

The mineral resources of this district are singularly varied; 
the\' include coal and iron in vast quantities and \ aried quality, 
salt, zinc, lead, manganese, a wide range of limestones, including 
large quantities of natural fertilizers in the shape of sulphate 
of lime or gypsum, fire clays, and cements, and a great range of 
building stones of w hich by far the most important are certain 
limestones, suited for ornamental purposes, known in commerce 
as limestone marble. This brief catalogue will inadequately 
serve to note the general nature of these valuable resources. 
We will now endeavor to give a somewhat moredetailedaccount 
of them : — 



and Paris, Georgetown Jc Frankfort Railroads. 11 



Coal. 

The coal deposits of this district occupy all the region 
from a point near or a little north of the New River west 
to near the edge of the blue grass limestone of Central 
Kentucky; at this point the Appalachian coal field, including 
its principal outliers, is about one hundred miles wide, this 
being about the widest part of the basin. In this part of the 
basin the workable coals are between twenty and thirty in 
number. In variet}' they include all the various kinds of 
bituminous coal, from the dry coal, invaluable for smelting iron 
in the raw state as well as for use in steam furnaces, to the very 
bituminous cooking and gas coals. Both these varieties of 
coal are found widel\^ distributed through the basin. On the cen- 
tral part of the Kentucky coal field; in the counties of Breathitt 
and those that border upon it there are extensive areas of 
cannel coal which are more extensive than an}' others that 
have been discovered elsewhere. I believe that there is more 
of this quality of coal in the counties of eastern Kentucky 
than in all the rest of the country put together. This body of 
coal is the natural source of supply for the great extent of 
countrv to the eastward and southward, where there is no 
good coal to be found. There is, it is true, a considerable 
amount of coal in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, but it is 
on the w^hole much inferior to this of central Kentucky. This 
is in fict the southernmost state in which coals, fit to be com- 
pared with the standard Pittsburg coal, can be found. The 
future market for these coals w^ill be found both to the east 
and to the west. This Kentucky section of the Appalachian 
coal field is much nearer to the central parts of the Ohio 
valley than the Pennsylvania or the West Virginia sections. 
It has also an advantage inasmuch as it has no considerable 
competition to apprehend in the markets from the anthracite 
coal of the eastern Appalachian section, as is the case in Penn- 
sylvania for the reason that the anthracite fields of Virginia are 



12 J^and Resources, of the I'irginia, Kenhicky c(r Ohio, 

small in ;ire:i and poor in quality. Although the coal beds 
of this Kentucky section, so far as known, never attain to the 
remarkable thickness of the great Pennsylvania seams, they are 
mostly of good workable thickness. There are pretty cer- 
tainly a dozen in the centre of the Kentucky section that have 
-1 depth of from thirtv inches to six feet. There is scarcely 
i\ hillside on this great area of twenty thousand square miles, 
Avhere from one to three coals cannot be found above the 
drainage level of the \alley. These coals are more cheaply 
mined than those of the anthracite district, and are equally 
well fitted for most of the arts. Their presence alone ensures 
to this rcirion a srreat manufacturinir and commercial future. 



If'OH Ores. 

The iron ores of this district are extremely abundant and of 
great varietv. In a ireneral wav thev arc divisible into four 
classes. In the tirst place we have the ancient deposits of the 
old Laurentian rocks, ores much altered by heat with the 
marks of their orijjin effaced. These ores belong to the same 
classes as those which are found in Eastern Pennsylvania, 
Putnam Co., New York, the Berkshire Hills and the Adiron- 
dac district. 

From the long continued decay of these ancient ores there 
arises a class of deposits commonly known as Bog Iron ores. 
These two classes especially abound in the upper part of the 
New River valley. The deposit known as the Cranberry ore 
in the upper part of this valley is asserted by iron experts to be 
•one of the most valuable sources of high grade ores in the 
United States. It is probably of this nature and owes its 
•singular freedom from phosphorus to the fact that it has 
been formed as a bog ore. These deposits of the upper 
New River district, and of Carter Co., Tennessee, which adjoins 
it, will have a value as a source of high grade iron ores hardly 
second to the iron mountain of Missouri or the ores of Lake 
Superior. The position of these Carolinian deposits is such 



and Paris ^ Georgetown & Fraiihfort Railroads. 13 

that these ores can be carried to the iron manufacturing district 
of the Ohio valley at less cost than the ores produced from 
those remoter points. It seems to me that a railway up the New 
River valley, besides giving access to a vast area of excellent 
timber and a large surface of good lands, will find its warrant 
in the development of these ores. 

West of the New River district wc have two classes of ores 
which deserve careful attention on account of their ofreat 
extent and ease of access; of these the deposits known as the 
Clinton ore are the most important. This ore is found on the 
horizon Avhich has proved the most productive in iron ores 
within the United States. From northern New York to Ala- 
bama the upper surface of the Clinton limestone generally 
has some iron ore; at many points this ore is so thick as to 
supply large quantities of ore to existing furnaces. There are 
some furnaces in New York and Pennsylvania as well as in 
Tennessee that have had their principal supply of ore from 
the beds of this horizon. The most considerable exposure of 
this ore in this district is upon the flanks of PowelTs valley, es- 
pecially on its ^vestern side. All the way, from the very head of 
this vallev to the point known as Big Creek Gap, in Tennessee, 
along a line about one hundred miles in length, this ore is 
found in beds of from six inches to four feet in thickness. Thi-^ 
ore has long been used in one or two smill furnaces of this 
district, and the iron produced has been of an excellent qualit}-, 
sufficientlv proving the eminent fitness of this ore for smelting. 
For its best uses it demands a certain admixture of the ores 
found in the boundary district or from the ores of the coal field 
next to that described. This deposit of iron ores in the PowelFs 
valley is the most extensive and easily accessible of any known 
to me in this country. For sixty miles or more the deposit 
is perfectly continuous. In the valley of the upper Cumber- 
land, to which easy access is given by the several water gaps 
that cross the Cumberland mountains, there is an abundance of 
coal suited for smelting iron, and great fields of excellent 
charcoal timber, as well as an abundmce of fire clay; in the 



14 Land Resources of the ]^lr<j;iiiio . Kctitucky d- Ohio, 

Powell valley itself excellent fluxing limestones abound; so 
that we have here all the conditions necessary for cheap iron 
production. As soon as this region is open to traffic I feel sure 
that it will become the seat of a very important iron industry. 

There is yet another set of iron ores found within the coal 
district in beds closely connected with the coals. These are 
the clay iron stones. Wherever these ores have been care- 
fully sought for in the coal bearing rocks of eastern Kentucky 
they have been found in considerable abundance. In the 
Hanging Rock district along the Ohio they have been extensive- 
ly used for many years for the manufacture of charcoal iron, 
for the making of car wheels, and though these ores have only 
been discovered in this district, I see no room to doubt that they 
will be found in greater or less abundance throughout the whole 
coal field of eastern Kentucky. 

Although the coals and irons of this district must always fur- 
nish the great staples of its mineral industry, there are several 
other metals and a variety of other substances that will be 
furnished by its quarries and mines. In the valley of the upper 
Tennessee there are several well-known deposits of lead and 
zinc ores; the lead mines of Wythe Co. have already furnished 
from twenty to thirty million pounds of this metal by a crude 
process of mining and reduction. The zinc deposits ot this 
valley are of considerable promise; it seems likely that they 
can furnish large amounts of this metal for which the sources 
of supply are daily becoming more limited and the uses more 
extended. 

This region abounds in deposits of salt. The salines of Salt- 
ville, in W}the County, have been and still are the most ex- 
tensive in the south save those of the Kanawah River valley. 
During the civil war they furnished a great part of the supply of 
salt used in the Confederate States. At all points where 
borings have been pushed to sufficient depths in the district 
between the New River and Central Kentucky salt water 
has been discovered, and in many cases burning gas accom- 
panies its exit, so that salt can be produced at a small cost, 
as other fuel is unnecessary. 



ami Paris, Georgetozvn c(; Frankfort Railroads, 15 

The plaster or gypsum deposits which exist near the line 
of this railwa}' are among the most important of its resources. 
These deposits are extensive and promise an indefinite sup- 
ply of a substance of great value to the tilled fields of the 
region to the east and south of the place where they are found. 
I know of no other deposits in the south that promise as large 
a supply of this very important substance. The soils of the 
Southern States need enriching with lime far more than those 
of the Northern States for the reason that nature has endowed 
them less liberally with this substance. There can be no 
doubt that these quarries of plaster, which are already begin- 
ning to furnish a certain amount for exportation, will give a 
very considerable trade to the ways that afford access to them. 

The last of the geological resources of this re<>:ion that we 
may name are the various building stones that can be produced 
there; one of these is the Tennessee marble, as it is termed 
in commerce. This important and beautiful building stone is 
fbund in the rocks known as the Trenton sandstone. It is 
extensively quarried near the Rogersville branch of the Virginia 
and Tennessee railway. Stone of the same general character 
is found at various points between the New River and the 
Cumberland Mountains, and I see no reason to doubt that 
good quarries of it may be developed at several points along 
the line of this road. 

In the region of the coal fields there are extensive deposits 
of fire clays which will have their values both from their use 
in the furnaces that are to be built in tliis region as well as in 
in the making of tiles for export. 



THE CENTRAL KENTUCKY SECTION. 

I have now considered in the brief wa\' which alone is possi- 
ble in a preliminary report the general physical conditions of 
this projected line in the region east of Central Kentucky. It 
remains to set forth the Aalue of this region to the project. 



10 Land Resources of the Virginia^ Keutuckw ct- Ohio, 

The most important economic features of Central Kentucky 
is the exceeding richness of its soil. No other part of this 
country has won as great a name for its agricultural resources 
as tliis section, commonly known as the *' blue grass district." 
This fertile area lies in the central parts of the State, extending 
from the Ohio Riyer to a point a score or two miles south of 
the Kentucky Riyer, including about ten thousand square miles, 
or ab(nit onc-fourtli the surface of the state. Considering the 
uniform fertility of this region, the wide range ol its agricul- 
tural products, and the singular healthliilncss of its climate, I 
belie\e that it may fairly be called the best part of the United 
States. 

The principal soil products of this section are of a nature 
to giyc much business to railways. The principal exports are 
wheat, tobacco, hemp, and liye stock. The greater part of the 
hemp raised in the United States is produced in the counties 
which this road is to pass through. Experience seems to show 
that onl\- in this section, and in a small district in Missouri, can 
this staple be grown to a protit. 

On the borders of tiiis district, and within its area, about 
one-third of all the tobacco crop of the United States is grown. 
Very reccnth' it has been found that these blue grass lands 
are peculiarly well suited to the production of what are called 
cutting leaf, or those used for making the fine cut chewing 
tobaccos. 

The great rapidit>' with which this crop is increasing in 
the blue grass district, and the large protit it atfords, makes it 
seem certain that it will soon c(;me to be one of the principal 
products of this region. The space of this report does not 
permit me to discuss in detail the agricultural possibilities of 
this region; suffice it to sa\' that, including the li\e stock, its 
annual product is probably of greater yalue than that of 
any equal area in this country. Furthermore from the con- 
stant adyance in agricultural methods, the yery rapid in- 
crease of stock breeding and tobacco culture, this relati\e 
^alue of the agricultural products of the district is certain 



and Paris, Gcorgctotvn c(r Frankfort Railroads. 



17 



rapidl}' to increase during the coming decades. It is certain 
that the products of this region will give a profitable busi- 
ness to well placed railways. 

It is not, however, on the agricultural resources of this dis- 
trict that this proposed railway will have principal!}' to depend 
for its business. This blue grass region has been deprived 
of its original forests and is quite destitute of coal, so that it 
mainl}' depends upon coal imported from Pennsylvania and Vir- 
ginia for its fuel supply, although coals equally or better suited 
for all the various uses of this kind of fuel are found in the 
region immediately east of this district. Within fifty miles 
of the heart of this "blue o-rass" reo-ion there are unlimited 
supplies of excellent and varied coals, including large fields 
of cannel and bituminous coal suited for smelting purposes. 
A road running from the center of Kentucky eastward to this 
coal field will have the advantage of this profitable element 
of traffic. 

The same highly developed agriculture that has deprived this 
central portion of Kentucky of firewood makes it impossible to 
furnish the demands for construction timber from its scanty 
woods. The people now rely on the importation of these tim- 
bers from other states. As this means a lengthened railway car- 
riage the price of such material is unreasonably high. Your pro- 
posed road will enter the admirable forests of eastern Kentucky 
as soon as they pass out of the blue grass district and from that 
point eastward for one hundred miles or more, will have the 
finest hard wood forests of this countrv adjacent to its line. 
It is not to Kentucky alone that we have to look for the 
consumption of the timbers furnished b\" these forests. The 
whole of the great southwestern countr}- is rapidl}' becoming 
cleared of its construction woods. The last census shows that 
it will be less than ten \ears before the forests of that region 
will be practically exhausted. Already the timber merchants of 
the Mississippi valley are looking to these great woods of 
eastern Kentucky and western Virginia for a good part of 
these supplies. This road will furnish a most advantageous 



"IS L'lnd Resources of the Mrglnia, Ketilueky ct- Ohio^ etc. 

line lor the export of all the forest products of this region. 
Crude and manufactured lumber and tan bark will doubtless 
be shipped over it in such quantities that I think they alone 
will go far towards giving it a profitable business. 

To sum up the conditions of this road, as far as they 
are determined by the physical structure and natural resources 
of the country it is to traverse, we may say that it proceeds 
through that part of the country between the Atlantic sea 
board and the Mississippi which is the richest in the economic 
resources tliat depend upon climate, soil, and mineral deposits. 
It makes its way through this region by ways that are less 
difficult than those necessarily followed by the other roads that 
pass through the mineral districts of the Appalachian mountains. 
I believe that for the mileage this road will command a wider 
ran<'-e of mineral and ao-ricultural products than am* other 
in this countrv. 



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